


Faking Well

by musicgirl1120



Category: Grey's Anatomy, Station 19 (TV)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Sick Character, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-17 15:54:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29968755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/musicgirl1120/pseuds/musicgirl1120
Summary: Carina really wants to go to work so she tries to hide how sick she is from Maya.  However, it's impossible to keep anything hidden from the fire captain for long.
Relationships: Maya Bishop & Carina DeLuca, Maya Bishop/Carina DeLuca
Comments: 2
Kudos: 117





	Faking Well

Monday’s weren’t Carina’s favorite day to begin with. She always tried to have Sundays off because she liked having a consistent break in her schedule meaning Mondays were her day back. 

This particular Monday, however, was even worse. She had worked a lot of the day before because she and Amelia had to get their grant proposal in by the end of the week to be considered for the funding the desperately needed to continue their research. 

Maya had been so great during this stressful process, bringing her coffee and lunch the day and not getting too angry when they had to cancel dinner plans so Carina could work late. They had been together for almost ten months, living together for four, and Carina had never been happier. 

Today, however, happiness was not her first thought. She had gone to bed the night before feeling tired, worn down, and just not right. However, this morning, she woke up and her head felt like it weighed a thousand pounds and every part of her body ached. 

The logical part of her brain told her to stay in bed and sleep off the fever she clearly had, but she and Amelia were so behind on their proposal that she knew she needed to go into work. 

Normally, she would stay home if she was sick because it would be irresponsible to pass anything to new moms, but today, she wasn’t seeing patients and knew how badly they needed this funding to continue their project. 

Maya walked into the room just as she was trying to figure out how she was going to get out of the house without the blonde realizing she was sick. 

“Morning Babe,” Maya smiled as she walked over to her girlfriend, planting a kiss on her lips. 

“Morning,” Carina said, rubbing her eyes as she forced herself to sit up. 

“Are you alright?” Maya asked, noticing Carina looked flushed and just not quite like her usual self. 

“Si,” the doctor said, nodding which she instantly regretted as her head pounded harder. 

“You look flushed,” Maya said, putting a hand on Carina’s forehead, “And you feel hot.” 

“I’m fine,” Carina said, “I was just under the covers.” 

“I’m going to get the thermometer,” Maya said, not quite believing her girlfriend. 

Carina groaned silently to herself. She knew that if Maya knew she had a fever, she wouldn’t let her go to work and the blonde was off today meaning Carina couldn’t just sneak out. Maya came back a minute later, handing Carina the thermometer which the brunette stuck under her tongue. 

“Can you go start the coffee?” Carina asked around the thermometer, “Because I’m fine and I need to go to work.”

“Only if you keep that under your tongue,” Maya said, eyeing her girlfriend. 

Carina nodded as the blonde left the room. The second she was out of sight, Carina pulled the thermometer out of her mouth, dipping it in her water glass, which was next to her bed, watching the number fall from over 102 down to 97.9. She quickly stuck it back in her mouth just as it beeped and Maya walked back in the room. 

“98.0,” Maya said almost in disbelief, “I guess you are fine.” 

“I told you,” Carina said, getting out of bed, “Now, I need to get to work. Amelia and I have four days to get this proposal finished.” 

“I’ll come by with lunch again today?” Maya asked as Carina went into the bathroom. 

“Only if you want to,” Carina smiled, knowing that meant Maya would be there. 

“Alright,” the fire captain said as Carina stumbled a little in the bathroom, “Babe, are you sure you are alright?” 

“Si,” she said, not nodding this time for fear of passing out, “I’m just tired. This proposal had been a lot of work.” 

“I know,” Maya said, rubbing Carina’s shoulders, “We will celebrate it being over on Friday. Babe, are you sure you’re feeling ok? You feel really hot.” 

“I’m fine,” Carina said, finishing with her hair, giving Maya a quick kiss before heading into the kitchen. 

Maya followed her, helping her get ready for work before giving her one more kiss. 

“I love you,” the blonde said, smiling at her, “I’ll see you in a few hours.” 

“Bye Bella,” Carina said, smiling a tired smile as she walked out the door. 

Maya went about her morning, showering before starting to clean the house. Around noon, she headed out to a little deli by the hospital, grabbing lunch for herself and Carina along with a box of pastries for Carina and Amelia to share while they worked. She then headed to the hospital, going up to Amelia and Carina’s lab. She knocked before walking in. 

“Hey Maya,” Amelia said from where she was working. 

“Hey Amelia,” the blonde said, smiling, “Where’s Carina?” 

“I was actually just about to go look for her,” Amelia said, “She went down to her office to grab something, but that was almost an hour ago, but she might have gotten tied up in patient files or something. She seemed a little off this morning, kinda distracted maybe, or tired.” 

“She seemed off at home this morning too,” Maya said, “Just not herself. I thought she seemed feverish, but I took her temp and it was normal.” 

“I’ll come with you down to her office,” Amelia said, “I have a question for her anyways.” 

“Oh, I brought you guys pastries from the deli up the block,” Maya said, handing Amelia the box she was holding. 

“I like having a research partner with an amazing actual partner,” Amelia said, smiling, “I’m lucky if Link brings me coffee once a day, and that’s if I ask, although part of that is probably because our son is currently on a sleeping strike and I have come to work twice without a bra in the past week, and almost left without pants once too so expecting him to remember coffee is a lot to ask.” 

“I don’t know how you do it,” Maya said, shaking her head. 

“Most of the time, I don’t either,” Amelia said, shaking her head, “But then I look at Scout’s perfect little face and it’s all worth it.” 

“He is pretty cute,” Maya said as they approached Carina’s door.

The light was on so Maya knocked before going in. They found Carina sound asleep on the couch in her office, a file sitting on the couch next to her. 

“She looks awful,” Amelia said, looking at her friend who was slightly sweaty, pale, and extremely flushed. 

“She’s burning up,” Maya said, putting a gentle hand on Carina’s forehead, the brunette’s brow furrowing as she opened her eyes, “Do you have a…?” 

“Thermometer,” Amelia said, handing one to Maya that she had grabbed from the nurse’s station, “This is a hospital. They are literally everywhere.” 

“Maya,” Carina said sleepily as Maya ran the thermometer over Carina’s forehead, “What are you doing?” 

“Checking your temperature,” Maya said, eyes widening when the numbers flashed across the screen, “103.4. My thermometer must be broken or something. You need to come home.”

“No,” Carina said, “No, I need to finish our proposal.” 

“Um, no,” Amelia said, shaking her head, “You are going home. We made a lot of progress yesterday, and Link is off the next three days so Scout is covered. However, if you share whatever is causing this fever, we stand no chance of finishing.” 

“I can’t just leave you to work on it alone,” Carina said, rubbing her eyes. 

“Babe, your fever is over 103,” Maya said, sitting down next to Carina, “You are sick. The sooner you rest, the sooner you can get back here and help Amelia.” 

“I… I guess you’re right,” Carina said, her head pounding more with each passing second. 

“Come on,” Maya said, standing up and offering Carina her hand. 

“Feel better Carina,” Amelia said, offering her friend a comforting smile. 

“If you need anything from me, maybe I can work from home,” Carina said as Maya grabbed her purse. 

“Yeah, or, you can just rest like a normal sick person,” Amelia said, “I can handle this, but maybe just get better by like Thursday so we can go over everything.” 

“I will try,” Carina said, laughing a little. 

“Now, go get some sleep and let your amazing girlfriend pamper you,” Amelia said, “Feel better.” 

“Thank you Amelia,” Carina said as Maya took her hand. 

“Oh, Amelia,” Maya said, “Here. I picked up lunch for us, but I doubt this one is going to feel much like eating so it’s all yours.” 

“Thanks,” Amelia said, taking the takeout bag from the fire captain. 

Maya and Carina headed out of the hospital and to Carina’s car. 

“I do not feel well,” Carina mumbled as Maya drove them home. 

“I’m sure you don’t,” Maya said, “That fever is really bad. Is anything else bothering you?”

“My head hurts,” Carina said, “And I just feel sick.” 

“I’m sorry Babe,” Maya said as they pulled into their apartment complex, “Let’s get you upstairs, get you some fluids and meds, and then you can sleep all day.” 

“Will you cuddle with me?” Carina asked as they walked upstairs. 

Now that she had admitted she was sick, everything felt so much worse. 

“I wouldn’t dream of doing anything but,” Maya said, guiding Carina into their room, both of them changing into pajamas.

Carina climbed into bed while Maya went into the kitchen to get her something to drink. The blonde came back a few minutes later with water, orange juice, Pedialyte, and tea, setting it all down on the nightstand. 

“I wasn’t sure what you would want,” Maya said, “But you need to drink something.” 

Carina nodded, sitting up as she reached for the glass of juice, downing almost all of it.

“Good,” Maya said, “Now, Tylenol and then sleep.” 

Carina nodded, taking the pills, swallowing them with the rest of the juice before curling up under the covers. Maya got into bed a minute later, seeing tears in Carina’s eyes. 

“Oh, babe, what’s wrong?” Maya asked. 

“Everything hurts,” Carina said, “My head, my muscles, my clothes are making my skin hurt.” 

“How about a cold shower?” Maya asked, wanting to rub Carina’s back but not wanting to make her pain worse. 

“I don’t know,” Carina said, “I just want to sleep.” 

“Ok,” Maya said, “Once the meds kick in, you should feel a little better. Do you want me to hold you?” 

Carina thought for a minute before shaking her head. 

“I mean, I do, but everything hurts,” Carina said, tears running down her cheeks. 

“I’m so sorry babe,” Maya said, kissing her forehead, “I’ll be right here if and when you need me.” 

Within ten minutes, Carina had fallen asleep. Maya got up, grabbing her laptop and working on some reports for almost two hours before Carina started thrashing around. 

“Babe,” Maya said, putting aside her work, “Babe. Car, hey. It’s ok. You need to wake up.” 

The brunette’s eyes snapped open, tears running down her face. 

“It’s ok,” Maya said, holding Carina close, “It was just a nightmare. You’re ok.” 

Carina took a few minutes to calm down, but eventually, the tears slowed. 

“Are you alright?” Maya asked gently, wiping the tears off Carina’s hot face. 

“Si,” Carina said, cuddling into Maya’s arms, “Just a nightmare. It didn’t even make sense. I was falling, forever and everything was going so fast. I don’t know.” 

“Fevers cause terrible dreams,” Maya said, rubbing Carina’s back, “They usually make no sense. What can I do to help you?” 

“Can we take a shower now?” Carina asked, rubbing her eyes. 

“Of course,” Maya said, “Sit tight, I will be right back.”

The blonde got up, going into the bathroom and starting the shower, getting it to just the right temperature to help lower Carina’s fever without giving her chills hopefully. 

“Come on,” Maya said, going back into the bedroom, helping Carina out of bed. 

They took a long shower, Maya helping Carina get clean before they just stood there, letting the water lower Carina’s fever. Once the sick woman started to shiver, Maya turned off the water, both of them dressing in fresh pajamas before Carina climbed back into bed. 

“Are you feeling up to some food?” Maya asked. 

“Maybe,” Carina said, “My stomach is feeling very unsettled, but I probably should eat.” 

“How about some soup?” Maya asked, putting a hand on Carina’s forehead, frowning at how warm she still was. 

Carina nodded, pulling the blankets up over her body. Maya went into the kitchen, thanking her lucky stars that she had made a double batch of one of Carina’s favorite soups a month ago and had frozen half of it. She pulled it out, heating it up before bringing it to Carina. 

“Thank you Bella,” Carina said as Maya handed her the mug of soup. 

“You need to drink more,” Maya said, “Do you want more juice? Or tea? Or something else?” 

“Can I have more juice please?” Carina asked, taking a small bite of the soup. 

“Of course,” Maya said, disappearing for a minute before coming back with juice, “If you eat enough, you can take some Advil. That will hopefully help a little more.” 

“Thank you,” Carina said, putting her head on Maya’s shoulder, “You are so good at taking care of me.” 

“Well, that I learned from you,” Maya said, smiling as she planted a kiss on Carina’s forehead. 

Carina ate her soup, getting through a little over half of it before she had had enough. 

“Alright,” Maya said, “Advil and then another nap? Or we can watch something?” 

“I think I just want to sleep,” Carina said, yawning, “I’m so tired.” 

“Of course,” Maya said, handing her some more medicine. 

“Will you hold me?” Carina asked quietly, “At least until I fall asleep?” 

“Of course,” Maya said, climbing back into bed, “I will hold you as long as you want.” 

Carina cuddled closer to her girlfriend, just needing to be held. Maya played with her hair, just trying to help the sick woman relax. The rest of the day was mostly just spent in bed, Carina barely able to stay awake for more than thirty minutes at a time. Maya worked on some of her files before going into the kitchen for a little while, making some fresh soup, Carina’s favorite kind, before leaving it on a low simmer and going back into the bedroom. Carina’s eyes were open when she walked in. 

“How long have you been awake?” Maya asked, getting back into bed as Carina moved into her arms. 

“No lo so,” Carina mumbled, “Maybe 5 minutes.” 

“Are you hungry?” Maya asked, pressing a kiss into her forehead, “I made your favorite soup.” 

“That sounds great,” Carina nodded, yawning “But not yet.” 

“Just tell me when,” Maya said, holding her close. 

“Do you have to work tomorrow?” Carina asked, leaning into Maya’s embrace. 

“I am scheduled to, yeah,” Maya said, nodding, “But I can call out if you need me to.” 

“No,” Carina said, shaking her head, “I will probably just sleep all day if this fever doesn’t go away which I doubt will happen.” 

“Alright,” Maya said, brushing a piece of hair off Carina’s forehead, “Well, if you need me to stay, Andy is perfectly capable of running things for one shift, so all you have to do is say the words.” 

“Grazie Bambina,” Carina smiled, just enjoying being held.

Maya eventually got some more food into her before they both went to bed for the night. Well, Carina fell asleep, but Maya struggled to fall asleep, at first because she was worried about Carina, then because she was too hot because Carina just kept moving closer to her and then she was worried again because of how warm the doctor was. 

Maya didn’t sleep at all, but the next morning, she was out of bed early to go for her run before going to work. Carina was still sound asleep when Maya was getting ready to leave. She left juice, Gatorade, crackers, Advil, and Tylenol on the nightstand. She also heated up some soup and left it in a thermos. 

She then headed out the door, not really looking forward to working while Carina was home sick. She went to work, hiding away in her office after getting the shift started, skipping group breakfast. 

She was struggling to concentrate, checking her phone every five minutes to see if Carina had texted her. About two hours into shift, there was a knock on the door. 

“Come in,” she called, looking up from the file she had been working on for the last half hour without making much progress. 

“Hey,” Andy said, walking in, closing the door behind her, “You alright?” 

“Yeah,” Maya nodded, “Why?” 

“Well, you skipped breakfast this morning,” Andy said, “And you haven’t come out of your office since. I just wanted to make sure everything was ok.” 

“I’m fine,” Maya nodded, earning her a look from her best friend, “Carina is home sick, and… I don’t know…. I hate leaving her when she’s not feeling well.” 

“Are you sick too?” Andy asked suspiciously, knowing that when Carina got sick, Maya also caught it most of the time and vice versa. 

“No,” Maya said, shaking her head, “Physically, I feel fine. She’s just got some crazy high fever. She’s been working overtime the past week for a big research proposal, so her immune system is shot. I’m just worried about her. I told her to text me when she woke up, but she must still be sleeping. I don’t know. She’ll be fine. I’m just being stupidly overprotective or something.” 

“Maya, you love her,” Andy said, smiling, “And you’re just worried. It’s normal. But I’m sure she’ll be fine.” 

“I know that,” Maya sighed, “I know she’ll be fine.” 

“But you’re still worried,” Andy nodded, knowingly, “And that’s ok. Give her another hour or two, and if she still hasn’t texted you back, run home and check on her. I’m sure she’s just sleeping off whatever bug she had.” 

“Yeah,” Maya nodded, running her hand over her face, “Yeah, you’re right.” 

Just then, the alarm started going off, and they all headed out to a scene. When they got back to the station 8 hours later, Maya was relieved she had a few messages from Carina, one saying she had woken up, one thanking her for leaving food for her, and one telling her that her fever was still over 103. Maya sighed, wishing there was something she could do to make Carina feel better. 

“How’s she doing?” Andy asked, seeing the look on her friend’s face as she walked past her in the barn. 

“She’s still got a really bad fever,” Maya said, shaking her head, “But she was coherent enough to text me so that’s a plus I guess. I’m just ready for this shift to be over so I can go take care of her.” 

“If you want to cut out, I can handle it,” Andy offered, “Really, it’s not a big deal.” 

“I’ll stay,” Maya said, “There’s not much I can do at home.” 

“Alright,” Andy shrugged, “But if you need to leave, just let me know.” 

“Actually,” Maya said, looking at the clock, “I’m not going to leave for the rest of shift, but I am going to go run some food over to Carina. I’ll be gone thirty minutes, hour tops.” 

“I’ll hold down the fort,” Andy nodded, “And I’ll text you if we get a call.” 

“Thanks,” Maya said, grabbing the keys to the station SUV, just in case she had to meet her team at the scene. 

She went to a deli they loved, grabbing some soup and Carina’s favorite bread before going home. She quietly went inside, slipping off her shoes before going into the bedroom. Carina was sound asleep in bed, covers thrown off, the brunette shivering. 

“Oh babe,” Maya frowned, grabbing the blankets off the floor, putting them back over Carina’s body. 

The sick woman woke up a little at the weight of the blankets. 

“Maya?” she said, confused, “What…” 

“I just came to bring you some dinner,” Maya said, putting her hand on Carina’s forehead, frowning at the warmth, “How are you feeling?” 

“Tired,” Carina mumbled. 

“When was the last time you took something?” Maya asked, rubbing her back. 

“Last time I texted you,” Carina said. 

That had been about five hours ago. 

“Alright,” Maya said, “Can you eat something and then we will get you more meds.” 

Carina nodded, rubbing her eyes. Maya grabbed the thermometer she had grabbed from the hospital the day before, wincing when she saw the 103.8 flash across the screen. 

“Babe, maybe we should go to the hospital,” Maya said, “You are very hot.”

“Just need meds,” Carina said as Maya helped her sit up. 

“Alright,” Maya agreed for now, “Is anything bothering you besides the fever?” 

“Just body aches and a headache that’s almost a migraine,” Carina said, taking the container of soup from her girlfriend, “I just need to sleep this off.” 

“I hate leaving you when you are this sick,” Maya sighed, seriously considering just staying home. 

“I am going to sleep after this all night,” Carina said, taking a small bite, “You should work. I will be fine.” 

“I will go back to work,” Maya agreed, “But if, when I come home in the morning, you are still this hot, I am taking you to the hospital.” 

“Fine,” Carina agreed, knowing Maya was probably right. 

If she was still running this high of a fever for a third day, there was probably something more serious going on. Maya stayed for a little while longer, helping Carina get a shower and some more medicine, laying with her until she fell asleep. 

Maya was going to stay longer, but she got a text from Andy, saying they had gotten a call. She carefully got out of bed, running downstairs. She met her team at the scene, Andy giving her a look as she took over the scene. 

Once they had the car fire taken care of and they were working on the overhaul, Andy came to find her by the trucks. 

“How’s Carina?” Andy asked as Maya worked on the initial paperwork. 

“Her temp is almost 104,” Maya sighed, looking up, “But other than that, she says she alright. I’m going to take her to the hospital in the morning if it doesn’t go down.” 

“Are you sure you don’t want to be home with her tonight?” Andy asked.

“I don’t know what I want to do,” Maya snapped before sighing, running her hand over her face, “Sorry. I’m just tired and stressed.” 

“Go home,” Andy said, looking at her friend, “And this time stay there. Take care of Carina and don’t make yourself crazy worrying at work. We are off in six hours anyways. Jack and I can cover the rest of the shift.” 

“I… fine,” Maya said, “I’ll go back to the station and then go home from there.” 

“Good,” Andy nodded, “We’re almost done so let’s finish up and get out of here.” 

They finished up, Maya grabbing a quick shower before going home. She quietly went into the bedroom, changing into some pajamas before going to get in bed. Carina naturally move closer to her, Maya wrapping her arms around her girlfriend, noticing she seemed, maybe, just a little bit cooler. The blonde closed her eyes, exhausted body falling asleep pretty quickly. 

About three hours later, Maya woke up in a panic, thinking she was fourteen again and had just had a bucket of water dumped on her head. However, once she calmed down, she realized she was safe. However, she was still soaking wet and confused. She looked over at Carina, realizing her girlfriend was the source of her early morning panic. Maya put her hand on Carina’s forehead, realizing she was a lot cooler. 

“Carina,” Maya said, rubbing her back, “Babe, wake up.” 

“Tired,” Carina mumbled, trying to push Maya off. 

“I know,” Maya said, “But you need to shower. Your fever broke.” 

“Why am I wet?” Carina asked, waking up a little. 

“Your fever broke while you were asleep,” Maya said, “Come on. We both need a shower.”

Carina rubbed her eyes as she sat up. Maya helped her out of bed and into the bathroom where Maya started the shower. They showered quickly before Maya went to change the bed sheets. 

“How are you feeling?” Maya asked as Carina climbed back into bed. 

“So much better,” the brunette said, rubbing her eyes, “That fever was so strange.” 

“Maybe it was just your body’s way of telling you to slow down,” Maya said, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend. 

“That’s not how fevers work,” Carina said, cuddling closer to Maya. 

“Well, whatever it was, hopefully it’s over,” Maya said, kissing Carina’s cheek, both of them falling asleep quickly. 

The next morning, they both got up, Maya making Carina breakfast, the first food other than soup the brunette had eaten in three days. The blonde then went to clean up the bedroom, finding the old thermometer on Carina’s nightstand. 

“I guess I should throw this out,” Maya said, coming out of the bedroom, showing it to Carina, “I just bought it last year, but I guess it’s already broken.” 

“It’s not broken,” Carina said. “It literally missed your fever of over 103,” Maya said, confused, “It said your temp was normal when you were super sick.” 

“Actually, I did that,” Carina said guiltily. 

“What?” Maya said, still confused. 

“I stuck the thermometer in a glass of water while you were making coffee,” Carina said, biting her lip. 

“What?” Maya said, eyes wide, “Why?” 

“I needed to go to work,” Carina sighed, “I thought I was fine. It was stupid, and I won’t do it again.” 

“Wow,” Maya said, shaking her head as she walked over to her girlfriend, “I thought I was the only one who pulled stuff like that.” 

“What can I say,” Carina said, “You’re a bad influence on me.” 

Maya smiled, leaning in and kissing her girlfriend. 

“Well, maybe I can have a little more of a bad influence on you,” the blonde said between kisses, “Bedroom?” 

Carina smiled, nodding as they got off the couch, Carina beyond happy that she was feeling better.

**Author's Note:**

> What did you think? We are a little over 24 hours away from a new episode, and I am so ready, and also so nervous for what's going to happen.


End file.
